Beijing - A group of victims' relatives Thursday urged the
Chinese government to investigate the deaths of hundreds of people
during the 1989 military crackdown on pro-democracy protestors.
The Tiananmen Mothers group wrote an open letter renewing its
demand for an official investigation into the military action on June
3-4, 1989, and a public announcement of the death toll and the names
of the dead.
'The bloody 1989 Tiananmen tragedy was not a result of the
government's inappropriate action, but the government's crime against
the people,' said the group, which takes its name from Beijing's
Tiananmen Square, where the 1989 protests began.
'Consequently, the June 4 incident must be re-evaluated,' it said
in the letter distributed by New York-based Human Rights in China.
The group said its demands to the ruling Communist Party can be
'summarized in three words: truth, compensation, accountability.'
The Tiananmen Mothers is an informal group of relatives and
supporters of victims of the 1989 crackdown that has campaigned since
1995 for an inquiry and for the government to offer an apology and
compensation to the families of victims.
It is led by retired university professor Ding Zilin, whose
17-year-old son was killed by a soldier's bullet, and includes dozens
of other parents and supporters of victims.
Ding told the German Press Agency dpa last week that she welcomed
the recent publication of a book of secret memoirs recorded by former
party leader Zhao Ziyang, who was purged for sympathizing with the
1989 democracy protestors.
'Zhao Ziyang's memoirs have a very crucial role in finding the
truth,' she said.
Ding said Zhao, whose memoirs were published four years after his
death, had answered a 'series of key questions' such as how the party
saw corruption in 1989 and how China should pursue democratic reform.
Ding's group has confirmed the death of some 200 people in Beijing
overnight on June 3-4, 1989, but she still believes the total number
of casualties is much higher.
On Thursday, the Tiananmen Mothers said the 20 years since the
1989 crackdown were 'very long and challenging for those of us who
have suffered the loss of loved ones.'
'Utilitarianism and pragmatism have replaced the idealism and
passion of former days,' their letter said.
'China is not getting closer to freedom, democracy, and human
rights, but rather drifting further away,' it said.
'We deeply regret that the Chinese people have once again missed a
historical opportunity for peaceful transformation in the course
towards democracy.'
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